She had become accustomed to being lonely. She was used to walking alone and to being considered 'different.' She did not suffer too much.

In 1938 Betty Smith divorced her husband and moved to Chapel Hill North Carolina. There Betty Smith honed her skills in journalism literature writing and drama winning a prestigious Avery Hopwood Award. Smith a fellow Brooklynite Betty Smith moved with him to Ann Arbor Michigan where he pursued a law degree at the University of Michigan.